Twinkle, Twinkle
by Shewhogazesatthestars
Summary: "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are... Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky... Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are." The relationship between Master and Student, Father and Son, Juan and Wallace... From the moment it began and to the moment that it ended. WARNINGS : Character Deaths, Violence. Complete.


**{** _Due to some negative responses and reviews concerning the format that this publication was first entered as, changes were made on January 14, 2015. Likewise, this publication was edited for minor spelling and gramatical errors on the same date._ \- SWGATS.** }**

**Twinkle, Twinkle**

His first night with Wallace under his roof was one that had been burned into his memory. The boy had been hurt- _Arceus,_ the boy had been _so, so very badly_ hurt- and it was that first night that truly opened his cobalt eyes to exactly how much pain the blue-haired boy had endured.

It was the quiet, oh-so-very quiet sounds of – of _something_ – that had drawn Juan into the hallway, just before he had turned out the lights in his bedroom. Just past midnight, he did not expect to hear any kind of noises from the room he had allowed his new ward. He stepped quietly to the door and looked into the crack that seemed to have somehow been fated to exist, and there he was. The blue-haired boy was sitting at the foot of the window overlooking the entirety of Sootopolis lake, curled up with his little chin resting on his tiny knees. He was shaking slightly, and before a moment paused, Juan realized that the sounds were indeed coming from Wallace. It took just another moment to realize something else, too – the boy was _crying_. Quietly, almost inaudibly, but he was crying. The older man took this in, and for a moment, he simply watched, unknowing of what to do, before – before _something – _took him over.

He stepped into the room, causing the door to creak in protest, and the blue-haired boy to turn toward him instantly, his young expression startled and full of some kind of agony Juan thought he just might have understood.

Sense lost, he knelt and gently, he took the boy into his arms. When Wallace buried his face into his chest, he pulled him in closer, protectively and comfortingly, and suddenly, words of a long-lost melody began to dance in his mind, and he began to murmur a song that he once knew...

**"_Twinkle, twinkle, little star..._"**

"_...My parents died on a vacation up to the mountains. Father was so happy to be there, with mother and I, so happy to be away from the house and alone with his family... We played in the snow all day. I remember that mother and I made snow-angels, and father taught me how to build a snowman... I remember my mother couldn't stop laughing, and I remember my father's huge smile... I see that smile every night now, when I close my eyes. I remember their smiles."_

The blue-haired teenager had spoken so suddenly, it had startled Juan. Unable to speak, it left a silence that Wallace could not bear, and so he simply continued speaking, with a tone of loss that the Master couldn't quite understand.

"_...We were having so much fun, weren't paying attention. A snowstorm brewed and hit us hard while we were still on that mountain. Father managed to get us to safety in a small cave. He was so sure someone would come to get us soon, that we just had to keep our heads, that we'd be okay... But nobody came. Not for a long time. It got so cold... So, so cold..._"

Juan was silent purposely now, listening carefully to every word Wallace spoke. He had never spoken of this particular event before, and now that he was doing so, unprompted, was cause for Juan to simply hear him out, despite the sheer agony in his voice that begged him for mercy, pleaded him to order him to silence himself.

But Juan didn't.

And so he continued.

"_...Mother and father huddled around me and tried to keep me warm. They gave me their jackets and father even took off his shirt. They wrapped me so tightly I couldn't move, and it helped, because I was warm. But they were cold. They were so very cold... And soon my parents' lips turned blue. My father told me to close my eyes and think of warmer times- he said everything would turn out for the best no matter what happened. Mother told me she loved me, and to be a good boy, and... And they both became still. They were frozen stiff by the time the rescuers got to the cave... But I was still so very warm..._"

The old Coordinator was astounded by the fact that Wallace was speaking so without emotion. He was speaking listlessly, as though Juan simply weren't before him and he was telling the events that had occurred within a dream.

But wasn't it? In some twisted way, it all had been, really. Wallace had been so young at the time of his parent's deaths. He couldn't remember too much before that incident, no solid memories of happy times, no memories of his life before the accident. There was nothing but cold and pain in those memories of his.

"_...They took me to the hospital. I stayed there for a long time- almost a year, because of a sickness I caught as a result of having been so cold for so long. After that... After that, they took me to the orphanage, and – and those people – they – _"  
Wallace finally dissolved into tears.

And Juan didn't hesitate, to do the only thing he really could to comfort the boy. His only response was the melody of his memories. He put all of his comfort – every fiber of his being – into those simple, childish, hopeful verses...

**"_...How I wonder what you are._"**

_"You lied to me! You looked into my eyes, and you lied to me!"_

There hadn't been a point in denying it. The fact that he had, had been blasted through the media since that afternoon. Juan had responded the only way he could at that moment; a very slight nod- no, a jerk, of his head. Wallace, however, was not to be disheartened by his lack of real response, he continued to fum and shout, his usually calm and quiet voice filled with anger and- worse- hurt. Hurt that Juan had, both intentionally and unintentionally, caused.

_"Why? Why would you lie to me like that? What could have been so important and yet so secret for you to just- Arceus! I can't even stand to look at you right now!"_

Juan had made no motion to stop the shaking blue-haired boy from disappearing up the stairs and retreating into his bedroom above his head... Bring him back to the present point in time for what must have been the thousandth time that hour. Under normal circumstances, Juan would have forced himself to face his student. He would have attempted to mend the broken pieces that had fallen from their bridge- but...

...But this wasn't the case, not for this. It couldn't be. And so he went along as though everything was perfectly in place.

For a while, both Master and student pretended. They pretended to acknowledge each other in the house that Wallace used to call home, they pretended for public events that everything was okay, despite the fact they both knew their relationship had splintered, cracked right down the middle. They pretended, and they pretended well.

And then it finally happened. The tension broke.

In the worst way Juan could ever dream of.

He awoke, warm, in a white room. A thin, snow-white blanket covered him until about mid-waist, but then he was stuck with several needles in both his arms, several wires were stuck to him, and the plug in his nose, assisting him with his breathing- told him all he needed to know.

And beside him, a certain blue-haired youth stirred when he did.

_"I was so worried." _Even from his glassy, half-awake, half-drugged state, Juan could quickly decipher the quiet, yet crashing waves of relief in his student's voice. "_You could have- Master, you had a heart attack, and the doctors- they said- Arceus, they said you stopped breathing, and- " _A hitched, cracked breath. Filled with concern and pain. "_They said you could have died."_

Juan closed his eyes. He had suspected that had been the case- the symptoms he was now nursing under the careful eye of the hospital staff now- an aching in his heart that seemed not to wish to go away, dizziness, fatigue... It all added up. But this was not a conversation he wished to have with his student. It had been the reason for all of this, for everything- why he had decided to keep his distance from his student.

He was ill. But Wallace didn't need to know that. He didn't need to know- Wallace needed to focus on himself, his life, his career- it wasn't his place to go and ruin all that by shifting the focus onto himself. And so Juan had chosen, after the bombshell that he was, in fact, sick, was dropped on him by his doctor, to distance himself from his student.

Doing his best to ignore Wallace's pleas for an explanation, and instead, he questioned, **"What day is it?" **

Wallace was understandably startled._"M-March, Master- March 16- Master, please, listen to- "_

**"You... Had a Contest today, didn't you... Wallace?"**  
_"W-what? Well, yes, I had a Contest today, but I- "_  
**"Probably could still make it, if... If you hurried."**  
_"Master, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here, with you. Didn't you hear me? They said you could have- "_  
**"Died... They said I could have died. I heard you."**  
_"And that doesn't mean anything to you?"_

Juan hesitated for a moment too long- he saw the horror of revelation appear in Wallace's eyes, and the blue-haired young man flinched away. _"You don't care if you die, do you? If you're sick enough to have a heart attack, Master, you should have at least told me- I could have helped you, and- "_

**"I'm not ill, Wallace- "**  
_"Stop lying to me!"_

Wallace's harsh, furious tone instantly hushed Juan, who thinned his lips as he stared a cobalt-eyed stare at his student, attempting to force him to back down from his uttered challenge. This had been something Juan had done to quell arguments in the past, while Wallace had been just a child –

– But this time, Wallace stood firm.

_"You're selfish," _Wallace accused him, forcing Juan to flinch and look away, gritting his teeth in frustration- now he was the one who felt like a child before his parent. But Wallace wasn't quite finished with him yet, and continued, sharply, painfully, _"You're selfish and you're a hypocrite. You always told me that no matter what happened, you and I would always be honest with each other- that we're supposed to trust each other, that we're supposed to be family. The moment something happened to me, you were always there for me! But- but I- the moment something happens to you, you just..."_

The blue-haired young man took a shuddering breath, terrible pain rolling off him in awesome waves.

_"...You close yourself off to me. I can't help you like you've helped me all these years if you keep doing this to yourself- Master, I don't want to lose you! I can't- it'd kill me to see you die like this! So please- please, let me in! Let me help you! Let me in so I can help you through all of this!"_

Something- something- within Wallace's voice shattered the ice somewhere deep within him. He sat up despite Wallace's protests and pulled the young man into his arms. His secrets- those he had been keeping from him since the moment he met him in that infernal orphanage all the way up to that very moment- spilled out of his mouth like a river once he began to let them out.

And when he was finished and the tears on both sides were wiped away.

That was when Juan spoke again, murmuring the words into Wallace's ear as he hiccuped and attempted to calm himself...

**"_Up above the world so high..._"**

Fast forward years later, Wallace is grown now, more confident and no longer the frightened child he was when Juan had first found him. No, now... He had grown into the fantastic man Juan had so dreamed of shaping him into, had so encouraged him to be, and, despite hell and high waters, so believed Wallace could become –

And yet...

There they were. Standing on opposite ends of the slippery grounds of Sootopolis Gym, their faces contorted in the heat and strain of battle – and this time, no holds were placed. Neither man showed mercy, crushing the other's companion Pokemon with blows that had caused ice to crack and water to evaporate in their wake, that caused the other patrons of the Gym they had run together to gasp and cry and flee in terror –

How had it come to this?

How had everything become so distorted? How had his student – no, his son! – turn against him, after all this years, after so many moments, after everything that he had taught him – but that wasn't what this was, was it? Despite the sting of this battle, that had come of a certain concern for a battle waged deep within Ever Grande, home of a Champion whose duties were slowly crushing him- _Arceus_, could he understand the sentiment. It had been him once... He could not blame Wallace for this battle. He knew it was what Wallace wanted, whatever Juan felt otherwise, and Wallace was determined to see his decision through...

...In the end, it was he who failed to defend this hallowed place where Trainers tested themselves, he who was forced to kneel and concede defeat, it was the Master who knelt before his student –

and yet...

It was Wallace whose tears began to stain the battlefield, the moment the Rain Badge was pressed into his palm. The action was the fruit of his labors, the final gift Juan had left to bestow- for the moment Wallace had challenged him, was the moment his apprenticeship had ended; Juan had been very clear to the point, that if Wallace challenged him for the Rain Badge, successfully or not, his apprenticeship was over- under the old, hallowed rules that Juan so followed, once the apprentice challenged his Master, the moment the student chose to rise up against him.

It was over. And Wallace had accepted it with great difficulty, and so there they were, a Master and his fallen student.  
Ah, but that was the thing, wasn't it?

That relationship had burned, had ended, but the moment he had seen Wallace's tears, the badge fell from Wallace's hand and Juan pulled his student into his embrace, the two knew it was not over between them, now that they so parted ways.  
No, now... Now they continued on their paths, not separated as Master and Student, but together as a father and his son.

_**"...Like a diamond in the sky."**_

In the end, Juan couldn't save him.

**"We've done all we can for him, Master Juan... We've done all we can. He- he won't survive the night. His injuries are too severe... The best we can do now is give him the strongest pain-killers we have on-hand and... Hope that he passes peacefully. You can see him, if you'd like... I warn you, though- he's not... He's hardly recognizable."**

Numbly, the retired Coordinator and retired Gym Leader nodded, and soon he was before the door that, on the other side, Wallace- his fallen student, his son- lay. The doctor bowed his head, real sorrow in his eyes and expression, patted Juan's shoulder in the only comfort he could give, professionally or otherwise, and disappeared down the corridor.

When he finally gathered the will-power- minutes upon precious minutes later- Juan opened the door, and as soon as he spied Wallace, he froze.

Although he did recognize the bandaged, broken body laying on snow-white sheets, the only indication of his continued life being the slow intake and outtake of short, painful breaths and the heart monitor telling the world at large that he hadn't yet succumbed to his terrible injuries- it was only because he had known the young man so long and knew him so well to tell.

_"...Ma-Master..."_

Juan's head lifted sharply, to see Wallace staring at him from across the room. His voice was low and weak, hoarse with the effort to speak- and yet, there he was, calling to him. The older man wasted no time to join him, placing himself right next to his bedside in a chair that seemed to have been specifically left there for this final visit.

_"...S-Sootpolis... Did... D-did I- Steven, is h-he...?"_

There was a certain kind of desperation in Wallace's voice, desperate for confirmation that this pain wasn't all for naught. Desperation for the confirmation that he had completed what would be his final task.

**"Wallace! Wallace- what are you- no! No! You can't seriously be thinking of- "**  
_"Steven, I have no other choice- I'm Sootopolis's Gym Leader- the Protector of the Cave of Origins- I can't sit idly by while my city is under attack!"_  
**"I won't let you- "**  
_"Yes, you will! You have to go to Sky Pillar- awaken the Sky Dragon- awaken Raykwaza and beg him to quell the beasts- I have to stay here- I have to help the citizens of Sootopolis evacuate- now go! Go, now!"_  
**"Wallace- please- this is madness- you'll be killed!"**  
_"I know the risks! Just go- go! I have to do something- I have to go!"_

And with that, according to Steven Stone, who was the last to speak to Wallace before he was found, an inch from death, on the shore of Sootopolis Lake, Wallace surfed off with his entire Pokemon Team at his side, aiming straight for the rampaging Legendary Pokemon, Kyogre and Groudon, who roared and battled in the middle of Sootopolis Lake.

It had been Steven, too, who found Wallace, battered, burned, drenched to the marrows, and unconscious. He had instantly gathered Wallace into his arms and rushed him to the hospital in Sootpolis, who, as soon as they laid eyes upon the broken Gym Leader, air-lifted him and Steven (who had refused to leave his best friend's side for even a moment) to Lilycove, where the region's best hospital was located.

It was only then that Juan was contacted.

**"Master Juan- "**  
_"Steven? I'm on my way to Sootopolis now- I heard of the calamity in the city, and I- "_  
**"No! Don't go to Sootopolis- come here, to Lilycove- "**  
_"Lilycove? But- "_  
**"No! It's- it's Wallace, Master Juan- he's been hurt, bad- they transfered him here to Lilycove just now, and- "**  
_"Steven! Focus- Wallace- how is he? Tell me what's happened- is he going to be okay?"_  
**"...I... I don't... I don't know, I... Don't... Know."**

When the doctor had delivered the news to Juan and the numerous people who had gathered to wait- including several other Gym Leaders and the Elite Four- that Wallace wasn't going to survive the night, Steven had slammed his hand through a hospital wall before storming out of the room without another word. The other's reactions were to either sit down, instantly burst into tears, or to set upon the doctor and tell him that he's wrong, that there was no way he was right, that Wallace was tough, that Wallace would pull through...

That Wallace wasn't going to die.

"...Mas... Master, please... D-did I...?"

Wallace's question, reiterated, weaker than before, snapped Juan out of his memories.

"Yes, you... You did well. You- you're a hero. You saved Sootopolis from destruction... Steven's safe, too. Everyone's safe." Everyone except for you, he wanted so much to add; he knew, though, that would only remind Wallace of his current state. Surely he must see the darkness, surely he must be in agony- surely he must know what it means for him.

But Wallace smiled.

He smiled the smile that Juan remembered the little boy wearing the moment he realized he was safe with Juan and that he'd never be treated the way he was in the orphanage Juan had saved him from.

He smiled the smile that Juan remembered the boy wearing when he first got over his fears and trusted Juan enough to enter the apprenticeship that would change the course of his life forever after.

He smiled the smile that Juan remembered the older boy wearing when he first met Steven Stone, the one he would later call his best friend.

He smiled the smile that Juan remembered the young man wearing when he stepped down as Champion and was awarded Juan's dual positions as Gym Leader of Sootopolis and the Protector of the Cave of Origins, which he had always dreamed of.

He smiled the smile that, after tonight, Juan would only remember in his memories.

Ripping him away from his thoughts again was a low, pained gasp, as Wallace's body was slowly forced to relax due to the massive amount of pain-killers finally beginning to work themselves within Wallace's bloodstream.

Juan took Wallace's hands in his own and fought the tears back for these final moments.

He could cry afterward.

Right now...

...Right now he had one final comfort to give.

In that dimly lit hospital bedroom, Death entered to steal a soul away that he had no right to take that night...

...But when Death did lay his hand upon that boy's shoulder, even He was startled to find that his latest lost soul was smiling a gentle smile and allowed himself to be gently taken away, mouthing the lines of a nursery rhyme that had lulled him to sleep for the final time.

**"Twinkle, twinkle, little star..."**

The lyrics of a song he hadn't whispered in what felt like forever, appeared in the old man's head one evening, several years after the so-named Calamity of Sootopolis. A memorial had been erected in honor of the brave blue-haired man who had given his life to the city. He hadn't left the city, despite the urging of his family, his friends, and his doctors to do otherwise. His health had been steadily in decline for a while now, but even then, he knew whatever time any treatments could bring him would only be artificial, would only be bought, and...

And Arceus was he already so tired.

So, when those lyrics appeared, unbidden to his thoughts, as Juan sat under the declining sun next to the statue of his unforgotten son who's life had ended so quickly, as though he had simply been a flame upon a candle who had been blown away...

...He knew what it meant.

With a crinkled smile, he leaned back and closed his eyes, and sung along to the nursery rhyme that he had whispered so many times to a scared little boy, an unsure teenager, and a brave young man.

And with the final words, Juan, too, was led away with a smile on his face.

**"_...How I wonder what you are._"**


End file.
